My Knitting Bag

In the 70's, my sister made a purse of an old pair of jeans. I decided to make a similar bag for my knitting. You know, the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thing.

I chopped off the legs and sewed them shut. The handle is braided strips of fabric cut from the legs. It's a great bag with lots of pockets for scissors, tapestry needles, etc.

I did make one HUGE mistake: I used velcro to keep it closed and my yarn catches on it all the time. Eventually I'll have to rip it out and put in snaps.

Man Purse

After our trip to New York, Rob asked me to make him a bag to hold his ear plugs, travel pillow and sleep mask. He wanted something he could pull out of his back pack and pop into the seat pocket on the plane. He refers to it as his ‘satchel.’ I call it his man purse.

I chose a stretchy yarn because I suspect the number of items he wants to place in the bag will expand. I’m 98% certain his iPod will be going in here and maybe some aspirin. The ribbed finish at the top of the bag ensures that, even with the drawstring open, the items inside will not fall out on their own. I like to tie the ends of the drawstring together with a half knot to keep the bag even more securely closed.

This is a quick knit ideal for the beginner looking to advance beyond squares. It’s also great for an experienced knitter who wants to do some stash reduction.

Originally this pattern appeared in the last issue of Essentia, the newsletter put out by the now-defunt Black Purl Magazine. It was supposed to be archived on the site, but since that hasn't happened yet (and I know L'Tanya is swamped), I decided to make it available here.

Skill Level
Beginner

Size
Finished bag measures 8 ½” by 4 ½” (21 ½ cm by 11 ½ cm)

Materials
MC: Gedifra Top Soft; 40% Viscose, 40% Polyamide; 20% Silk; 1.75 oz /50 gm 103 yds/ 95 m; color: 6514 (black): 1 skein
CC: GGH Linova; 74% cotton, 26% linen; 1.75 oz /50 gm 110 yds/ 101 m; color 26 (red): 1 skein
1 set size 7 (4.5) mm dpns
1 set size 9 dpns

Gauge
21 sts and 26 rows in st st in MC on larger needles equals 4” (10cm)

Bottom:
Using CC, cast on 25 sts onto smaller needles.
Work 8 rows in garter stitch.

Sides:
Pick up 3 sts along short edge of work, 25 sts on long edge of work and 3 sts on last short edge. Distribute over 3 dpns. Place marker. Work one round in in st st.

Switch to MC and larger needles. Work in st st until piece measures 6 ¼”.

Using CC, work 3 rows in st st.

Eyelet Round:
k2, k2tog yo for entire round.

Work 3 rows in st st.
Switch to MC work 5 rows in 3 X 1 rib. Bind off in pattern.

Drawstring:
Using MC and smaller needles work a 3 st icord until it measures 18”. Leave on needles
Leading with the cast on edge, weave icord through holes created in eyelet round. Using a second dpn, pick up 3 sts at cast on end of icord. Use 3 needle bind off to attach end of icord to picked up sts.

Finishing
Weave in all loose ends. Fill with travel necessities. Enjoy!

Rejection!

Knitty didn't accept my pattern. Given my history with magazines going under after accepting one of my patterns, that's a bit of a relief. I still want to submit this pattern somewhere, though, so I might have to pick a magazine I don't like! : )

They say bad luck comes in threes, so maybe after I get a third pattern published, and a third magazine closed, it'll be safe for me to get accepted at Knitty.

"The Man Who Loves Breasts" Is Here!

Rob's new comic, The Man Who Loves Breasts, debuted at SPX over the weekend. Woo-hoo!

If your local comic shop doesn't have it, you can get a copy from Top Shelf.

Or, if you live in the Bay area, you can pick up a copy from us at APE, where we'll be sharing a table with John Adams. And I'll have knitted Pentapi, too, if it ever cools down enough to touch wool again!

I Might Be a Jinx...

I sent a pattern for a "Man Purse" to Black Purl and they accepted it (Yea, me!) and now the magazine is no more. L'Tanya graciously included it in the last Essentia newsletter, but it's not archived on the site, so I might post it here as well.

I'm feeling cursed because MagKnits went kaput a month after publishing my Pentapus pattern. I just sent a pattern to Knitty and find myself hoping it doesn't get accepted. Bad luck comes in threes, and I'd feel responsible if Knitty went under after publishing one of my patterns!

I am woman, hear me roar.

Yesterday I replaced the keyboard on my laptop all by myself. I had to take it apart with a screw driver and reassemble it without losing 4 itty-bitty screws.

Now I can use the shift key and the letter 't'. Woo-hoo!

Matilda Hat

I made this hat for my business partner for her birthday. She'd seen a picture of it on my blog a few months ago and admired it -- even mentioned preferred colors. I can take a hint.

I couldn't figure out a way to get her head measurements discretely, so I had to guess on the size. Luckily, I was right.

The pattern's available on MK Carroll's blog.

I used the recommended yarn, Peace Fleece, for the hat. It felt coarse while knitting but, as several people on Ravelry noted, it washes up to be quite soft. For the flowers, I used a bit of Lamb's Pride Strawberry Smoothie left over from a purse I made her for Christmas. The variegated yarn gave an illusion of depth to the flowers and ties the look together if she happens to wear the hat while carrying the purse.

Modeling credit: Half-empty bottle of garlic and basil olive oil bought at the farmer's market. Yum!